Under a black and white checkered umbrella, Winslow and Sheila De La Mora huddled together at Nashville’s Riverfront Park to wait out the rain.

The Franklin couple came prepared with a festive red rain poncho during this year’s record attendance Fourth of July celebration. Sheila sipped a Diet Coke while Winslow said last year the two sat outside in the 99-degree heat — Nashville’s third hottest Fourth of July.

“We came out last year and it was really hot,” Winslow, 60, said. “We thought, ‘ah, it’s gotta be a little better this year.”

The heat during the Fourth of July was better. But the scattered storms throughout the day made for a wet Let Freedom Sing! event in downtown Nashville.

Luckily, the storms cleared for the city’s fireworks display and the event’s Brett Eldredge concert.

The day’s event drew about 343,000 people, according to Butch Spyridon, Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp CEO and president. The previous record was 284,000.  

“It is a little cooler, but a little wet,” Winslow said, then laughed. “We came prepared.”

The day’s rain, however, meant hundreds of festivalgoers needed to break out umbrellas or plastic ponchos outside of Nashville’s Honky Tonks. Others found shelter and huddled together away from the rain.

Tina Janssen, 38, said the weather wasn’t dampening her spirits, moments after painting an United States flag on the face of her four-year-old daughter Amelia. The St. Petersburg, Florida resident and her family were in the area as part of a road trip. 

“We like it very much, but we are a little sad due to the weather,” Janssen said. “Still, we are having fun.” 

This isn’t Nashville’s first wet Fourth of July. While the 2018 celebration featured sweltering heat, rain threatened the downtown area during the 2017 concert. It stayed clear of the area, but in 2015 and 2016, those waiting for the concert and fireworks were occasionally rained on.

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